DRINKING WATER
Success Roadmap For Advanced Metering Infrastructure Installations
For a water utility of any size to function properly, effective meter reading is a vital aspect of day-to-day operations. Meter reading supports both ends of the transaction, ensuring that water is being properly delivered, accounted for and billed each month.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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![potosi]( "Two Decades Later, American Ductile Iron Pipeline Keeps Water And Hope Flowing In Potosí")
Two Decades Later, American Ductile Iron Pipeline Keeps Water And Hope Flowing In PotosíNestled at the foot of the Cerro de Potosí – or Cerro Rico (“rich mountain”) – is Potosí, Bolivia. This capital city of the Tomás Frías Province was established almost 500 years ago and is most known for its abundance of silver, which has fueled the area’s economy for centuries. Another unique aspect of Potosí is its location. It is one of the highest cities in the world, with an elevation of more than 4,000 meters [13,000 feet].
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Big Data Problem Solved With Magnetic Flow Meter Technology
SUEZ operates regulated water systems in eight states, and provides contract services to over five million people. SUEZ operates several water systems in the suburbs of New York City including SUEZ New Rochelle and SUEZ Westchester in Westchester County, New York.
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Hendersonville Water Treatment Plant Features Innovative Disinfection System
Hendersonville Utility District (HUD) serves one of the most populous suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee.
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![TheCloud]( "How The Cloud Is Revolutionizing The Future Of Water Utility Management")
How The Cloud Is Revolutionizing The Future Of Water Utility ManagementWeb-based software services, more commonly called cloud computing or Software as a Service (SaaS), are being implemented globally by users in virtually all types of organizations.
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![GettyImages-2195684944 data center]( "Keep Your Cool: The Importance Of Advanced Side Stream Filtration In Data Center Operation")
Keep Your Cool: The Importance Of Advanced Side Stream Filtration In Data Center OperationAdvanced side stream filtration protects sensitive cooling infrastructure in data centers, extending membrane life, reducing water and energy use, and preventing costly downtime caused by particulate-loaded cooling water.
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![FieldMonitoring.png]( "Close Data And Control Gaps With Remote Monitoring")
Close Data And Control Gaps With Remote MonitoringFor as many water/wastewater utilities that use SCADA systems inside their treatment facilities, there are many where that automated data collection and control all but ends at the property line. In reality, a significant percentage of customer service and performance efficiency opportunities exist ‘beyond the fence.’ Here is how utilities can use remote monitoring to leverage those opportunities for success.
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Troubleshooting A Sudden Fecal Coliform Non-Compliance Event
A municipal wastewater treatment plant investigated a sudden increase in fecal coliform exceedance events.
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![GettyImages-1333819991_450_300]( "The Hidden Cost: Uncovering The Truth About Non-Revenue Water")
The Hidden Cost: Uncovering The Truth About Non-Revenue WaterNon-revenue water drains utility budgets, resources, and public trust. Audits, ultrasonic metering with acoustic leak detection, and community engagement provide practical, cost-effective steps to curb losses and improve efficiency.
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![tnuva-ba'emek]( "Pasteurized Equivalent Water Treatment At Tnuva Ba'Emek, Israel")
Pasteurized Equivalent Water Treatment At Tnuva Ba'Emek, IsraelIn the heart of Israel’s Jezreel Valley, Ba’emek Advanced Technologies—part of the Tnuva Group—faced a critical challenge: how to sustainably reuse water extracted from whey during dairy processing without compromising safety or quality.
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![ORIONCellularEndpoint]( "Advanced Metering Analytics And Hi-Res Ultrasonic Meters Create A Winning Combination")
Advanced Metering Analytics And Hi-Res Ultrasonic Meters Create A Winning CombinationWhen Waterworks District 3 of Beauregard Parish, La., began to research new water meters to replace its aging system, it didn’t take long to decide that the BEACON SaaS managed solution was the right fit.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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What Is Genclean Advanced Oxidation Disinfection Solution And What Is It Used For?2/18/2021
A non-toxic, advanced oxidation (AOP) formula of minerals chelated with oxygen and stabilized in an aqueous water solution. It is a viable option in industries and applications requiring a solution to challenging situations where high level effective sanitization and oxidation is required. Read more to learn how the Genclean advanced oxidation treatment solutions can be used in different applications.
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Application Note: YSI Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring And The IPSWATCH-EMPACT Program12/28/2005The Ipswich and Parker Rivers watersheds lie only a short distance north of Boston, MA. The first settlements in these watersheds began in the early 1600s. Since that time, residents have relied heavily on the natural resources of the Parker and Ipswich Rivers, their coastal estuaries and Plum Island Sound, which is known as the Great Marsh. This ecosystem has been designated and protected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).
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Municipal Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring9/24/2020
We arm municipalities with actionable data necessary to make informed decisions about water quality in their communities
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Panametrics Technology Helps Track Potable Water Leaks4/22/2022
Concerned about the volume of water leakages throughout their network, a Swedish water authority turned to Panametrics flowmeters to map their municipal water network -- enabling quick leak identification and fixes.
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TOC Analysis: The Best Tool In A Drinking Water Facility's Toolbox5/3/2019
SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions designs and manufactures Sievers Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Analyzers that enable near real-time reporting of organic carbon levels for treatment optimization, quality control & regulatory compliance. TOC has a wide range of applicability at a drinking water plant, and therefore any drinking water utility — large or small — can measure TOC in their laboratory or online in their treatment process.
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The 'First Line Of Defense' In Protecting Membrane Filters8/9/2019
Multi-element, self-cleaning pretreatment filters optimize membrane filter life and production while minimizing maintenance and downtime.
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Scrubber Application1/27/2022
This customer supplies district heating and electricity for the region of Sønderborg. For one of their waste applications a MAG meter failed within 6 months, and was successfully replaced with a Panametrics Aquatrans AT600.
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Process Optimization For Flow Measurement4/29/2021
The Saalfeld-Rudolfstadt Association in Germany must rely on cutting-edge technologies that optimize flow measurement in order to allow for smooth processes and supply 82,000 inhabitants with clean drinking water.
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Application Note: Busseron Creek Watershed Partnership Addresses Concerns In A Rural Watershed1/20/2010As with other watershed organizations, the Busseron Creek Watershed Partnership (BCWP) exists because of surface water quality degradation. In this case, those waters drain 163,231 acres of a watershed that crosses the boundaries of Vigo, Clay, Green, and Sullivan counties in West- Central Indiana. By YSI
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Organics Aren't Invisible: A Guide for Simple Online Monitoring5/13/2019
Control of dissolved organics has been one of the highest priority concerns for most water treatment plants for over 20 years. Organics monitoring is an even more critical issue today in the face of more stringent regulations and concerns around trace organics, emerging contaminants, and even counter-terrorism or water security. Despite the critical need, many plants still rely primarily on turbidity for monitoring and process control.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
The Aztec 600 Low Range Manganese Analyzer AW634 offers reliable and accurate on-line analysis of manganese up to 0.10 ppm Mn.
Loprest pressure filters can be provided in horizontal or vertical vessel configurations for flow rates from 50 to 5,000 GPM. The Loprest multi-cell pressure filter design produces its own backwash water, so there is no need for a separate treated water source and pumping system. The Loprest filter design has been optimized over many years for reliable, efficient, economical operation. All Loprest treatment systems are operated by a fully automated control package.
Kamstrup has expanded on its already proven ultrasonic technology by including the ability for its newest meter, the flowIQ® 2200, to listen for leaks via acoustic leak detection – which makes it the first and only single solution with integrated acoustic leak detection available to the market.
The MEGA-STOP® is a safe and economical “over-insertion” solution. With it, you can properly and quickly assemble pipe joints each and every time.
The original OptiFiber® pile cloth media is specifically engineered for water and wastewater applications and designed to maximize solids removal over a wide range of particle sizes. Deep, thick, pile fibers capture particles for the most effective depth filtration.
Cloth media filters are designed for a variety of tertiary treatment applications
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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![Legionella pneumophila-GettyImages-1451790531]( "Legionella And The Need For Next-Generation Detection: Steps Water Utilities Can Take To Alleviate The Risk")
As water systems grow more complex and climate patterns shift, Legionella is emerging as one of the most persistent and underestimated risks in the built environment. The threat to public health from Legionnaires' disease will likely further escalate unless decisive action is taken.
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![maasjackson]( "Metering as a Service Improves Jackson, MS, Water Infrastructure")
The city of Jackson faced a water crisis that went beyond the tap. What began as an ambitious plan to modernize its water metering infrastructure in 2014 became a logistical and financial nightmare, costing the city millions in lost revenue and declining public trust. Metering as a Service (MaaS) offered the city an alternative option.
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![leadpipeInground_Getty-2211014580]( "The Final Mile: The U.S. Simply Must Rush To Finish Its Critical Lead-Pipe Cleanup")
There has been an abundance of funding available to address the estimated 9.2 million lead service lines currently deliver drinking water to homes, businesses, schools, and unsuspecting citizens throughout the United States. So it is disheartening to realize that millions of lead water lines are still delivering water to citizens.
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![Digital communication-GettyImages-2042965298]( "Beaverton's New AMI Solution Checks Every Box: Operations, Billing, Service, And Savings")
This Q&A follows the Webinar: Beaverton's New AMI Solution Checks Every Box: Operations, Billing, Service, & Savings hosted by Water Online on October 21, 2025. The webinar featured the leadership team from Beaverton Water Division as they discussed lessons learned across operations, billing, and customer service, offering a 360-degree perspective on implementing and managing an AMI system.
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![Digital communication-GettyImages-2042965298]( "AI, Data Centers, And Water")
Amid the AI-fueled gold rush, more leaders are beginning to pay attention to the short- and long-term natural resource concerns, especially around all the water needed to keep data centers running. -
![Money down drain-GettyImages-171578755]( "Is This The End Of Affordable Water?")
Water pricing often fails to reflect scarcity, quality, or long-term risk, forcing companies to act internally. But this action is not being done in a vacuum. The ripple effect of internal water pricing is bound to impact water utilities, and ultimately, ratepayers and consumers.
DRINKING WATER VIDEOS
Out of sight, the country’s underground water infrastructure is aging and failing. In this interview, AMERICAN’s Derek Scott and Maury Gaston discuss the problem, challenges facing cities, and the latest technologies for providing and protecting one of our most precious resources — water.
The recoating of a potable water tank in Lancaster, PA, included an already tight timeframe and several challenges that cause delays.
Appearing on The Weather Channel's "Wake Up With Al" morning show, water expert Dan Theobald puts drinking water to the test by measuring total dissolved solids (TDS) in tap water samples from Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Jersey, as well as bottled water samples.
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.